Kastellorizo is situated 72 miles east of the Island of Rhodes, on the Turkish coast and 3 miles from the town of Kas in Turkey. The official name is Megisti and is mostly known as Kastellorizo, from the Italian derived name of Castello Rosso ( the Red Castle ) as the morning sun gave the castle a red color from a far distance.
Kastellorizo , the largest of the islands in the area, is surrounded by the Islands of Ro, Strongili, St. George, Psomi ,Psoradia and a handfull of smaller Islands.
Kastellorizo land mass is a mere 4 square miles , was once a bustling merchant Island with a population of 12 thousand inhabitants in the early 1900s, and during that period was the most densely populated area on the entire planet. It boasted a merchant fleet of 350 ships. Due to wars and economic decline, the Island now has a population of 500 residents. The Island was inhabited 8000 bc after neolithic artifacts were discovered by arcaeologists during excavations. From the fall of the Byzantine empire the Island was occupied by a multitude of conquerors, amongst them Ottomans,Venetiens, Arabs and the Knights of St. John. From 1913 the island was under French rule who then passed the Island to the italians in 1926 who occupied it until the capitulation of the Mussolini in 1943 and the British military forces until 1948 when the Island was awarded with the rest of the Dodecanese Islands to the Greek state, for their assistance to the Allied effort during world war 2. In 1943 due to bombings by the Axis forces the inhabitants were taken for their protection to refugee camps in Gaza, Cyprus and Egypt, where they remained until 1946. The bombings destroyed a vast amount of buildings and when the Kastellorizians were informed about the damages, a majority of them immigrated to other countries to seek a better future. A small amount decided to return and rebuild their lives. So two world wars and a 1926 earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale caused major damages to the islands infrastructure, and resulted in the decline in the Islands population. The majority of the inhabitants migrated to Australia. The number of Kastellorizians in Australia exceeds 50 thousand.
Kastellorizo is now a popular destination for travellers from around the world and the island is developing day by day. The 1991 Italian movie production of the Oscar winning film , Mediterraneo has contributed greatly to the islands popularity, especially by Italians. The harbour is a popular stop for yachts and Turkish touristic boats. During the season , the island has multiple boats with visitors from the Turkish coast, there are ferry boats from Rhodos at a regular pace, and the 900 meter runway at the municipal airport of Kastellorizo has 6 flights a week with Olympic Airways flights. ( The planes landing here are DASH 8. )
The Islands has more than 20 churches and monasteries, the largest are the church of St. George (of Lucas Santrape) and St. Constantine and Helen in the Horafia area and the church of St. George ( Pigadiou) in the main port. On the mountain is the Church of St. George ( tou Vounou ) which is the oldest on the Island and was built on top of an ancient tomb, and in the gap underground the chappel of St. Haralambos, which can be entered through a secret opening. It was built during the Ottoman occupation and secret services took place in there.
An archeological museum is situated near the medieval castle and a cultural museum which is in the old Turkish mosque in the Kavos area. There is also a unique puzzle museum run by professor Pantazis Houlis, and has a vast collection of old and new puzzles.
Highly recommended is a visit to the blue cave, a natural cave that can be visited only by boat, with a low opening that leads into a very large cavern. The blue cave is also named the cave of Parasta ( the name of the man who discovered it) or Fokiali, due to seals living in it.
The island boasts many walks and walkers can discover the ancient walls, tombs and patitiria ( wine making stones ) and admire an area full of oregano, thyme and sage which has withstood the centuries and weather conditions and has remained unchanged. However I recommend that keen walkers during the hot summer season to supply themselves with walking shoes, a lot of water and hats and walk these paths during the early morning or late afternoon hours and enjoy another side of our lovely Island.
Enjoy your holidays !
